4 of the most controversial presidential pardons in US history

By CP Staff, Wednesday, December 04, 2024

Former U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event for Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at the University of Pittsburgh on Oct. 10, 2024, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. | Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

President Barack Obama pardons Bradley Manning

President Barack Obama commuted Bradley Manning’s sentence after the former U.S. Army intelligence analyst was convicted in 2013 for the unauthorized disclosure of classified military documents to WikiLeaks.

After leaking the documents, Manning later said he did so "out of a love for my country and sense of duty to others," as he questioned the morality of U.S. occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also said he decided to leak 700,000 U.S. security documents to the website WikiLeaks because he felt that the U.S. had "consciously elected to devalue human life both in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama commuted Manning's 35-year sentence in 2017, reducing it to seven years, which led to Manning's release after serving about seven years in prison.

In 2013, Manning underwent a U.S. Army-approved and taxpayer-funded sex reassignment surgeries and identified as Chelsea, a move which conservative activist Tony Perkin said was a key factor in Obama’s decision to pardon Manning.